Dal Chicken or Dal Gosht is a crowd favourite during Eid. The lentils used in this dish are Chickpeas lentils/Chana dal, Pigeonpea lentils/Arhar dal/Toor dal, and Red lentils/Masoor dal. All the lentils mentioned have a distinct flavor of their own, and when the chicken joins this combination, it takes it to another level.
Ingredients for Dal Gosht/Dal Chicken
- Chickpeas lentils/Chana dal – 150 grams
- Pigeonpea lentils/Arhar dal/Toor dal – 25grams/2 tablespoon
- Red lentils/Masoor dal – 15 grams/1 tablespoon
- Chicken Breast – 500 grams
- Onions – 2 pieces chopped
- Tomato – 2 pieces chopped
- Ginger-Garlic paste – 2 teaspoon
- Desi Ghee – 2 tablespoon
- Cumin seeds – A pinch
- Salt – According to taste
- Kashmiri Red Chilli powder – 2 teaspoon
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Corriander powder – 1 teaspoon
- Garam Masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Fresh Corriander – For garnish
Procedure to prepare Dal Gosht/Dal Chicken:
- Soak Chickpeas lentils/Chana dal for at least 2 hours. After soaking, add all three lentils/dal in a pressure cooker and add a pinch of salt and turmeric to it along with 700-800 ml of water. Now pressure cook the lentils for 2-3 whistles.
- Meanwhile, parallelly take a kadhai/wok/frying pan on a medium-high flame and add desi ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add the cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds start to pop, add the onions to the pan. Saute the onions for around 3-4 minutes, and then add ginger-garlic paste. Saute this for about a minute or so till the raw flavour of ginger and garlic are gone.
- To the sauteed onions, add Kashmiri Red Chilli powder, Turmeric powder, Corriander powder, Garam Masala powder and saute for a minute or so. Add half a cup of water to the mixture if required to cook the masalas properly. Make sure you don’t use spices much, as they might overpower the natural flavour of lentils/dal.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Cook them along with onions for 2-3 minutes or till the oil separates.
- Cut the boneless chicken breast into 2-inch pieces and add the chicken to the kadhai/wok/frying pan. Saute the chicken with the onion-tomato mixture for about 5 minutes.
- Simultaneously, check the pressure cooker for steam and open it accordingly. Check if the lentils/dal are well done.
- Put the pressure cooker on low heat without covering it. Add the chicken masala to the pressure cooker and mix it well.
- Add around 100-150 ml of water as required because the lentils and chicken will soak the water. Keep this on low flame for about 4-5 minutes, and it is ready.
- Garnish the Dal Gosht/Dal Chicken with freshly chopped coriander and serve.
